-- George Eliot

Dear FA Families,

One of the unique and refreshing aspects of the PK-12 school-age years… any and all of those years… is the repeating, regenerative cycle of the seasons of new opportunities, challenges, and moments of personal growth that present themselves within any twelve-month period.

Sometimes the cycles are subtle and appear slow moving as in the evolution of a second grader’s writing skills over time, and sometimes they are abrupt as when a high school student/athlete switches sports from basketball season to baseball season in a single afternoon. Sometimes students look forward with great anticipation to those upcoming season or changes, whatever they are; sometimes they don’t even realize they have entered a new season until it is well upon them. But whatever the pace or degree of change for each individual, whatever the arena where challenge and growth are occurring, whatever one's comfort level becomes with trying new adventures or accepting new risks, taking advantage of moments of opportunity and change in one’s formative years often shapes an outlook regarding personal growth and accepting and adapting to new challenges for many years to follow.

The value of attending a school like Frederica related to this phenomenon of trying new opportunities is threefold. First, FA students are generally "doers" not watchers. We are trying to construct and support a culture of participants not spectators because we think that one can learn so much more about oneself and the world around one when actively participating in life rather than simply observing it, although there is clearly ample time for both. Beyond that, the single biggest impactor in influencing a young person’s attitude towards anything in their lives these days is the quality of his/her peer groups and their attitudes towards various aspects of life. If your child’s circle of friends thinks that playing an instrument, singing in the choir, or joining the school play is attractive or worth investing time and energy in, there is much more likelihood that he/she will adopt that attitude or outlook and try something new. FA does a terrific job of recruiting and attracting doers; and, at the same time, we are working diligently to create and sustain a culture that engenders a positive attitude towards fashioning a “doers' mindset" in all to accept new challenges.

Second, FA works intentionally to create as diversified a menu of experiences, activities, and relationships so that something or someone is of great interest and is reaffirming for each student, every day. A vibrant and varied daily experience and/or seasonal experience is critical to nurturing a positive attitude about the importance of continuing to grow and develop. It is not just the subtle changes of expectations or activities within a classroom throughout the year that equip and prepare students for change, it is also the larger seasonal movement and corresponding opportunities - a new menu of after-school clubs offered mid-year in the Lower School or mid-year electives in the Upper School - that demand attention and reward those who choose to embrace them.

Third, and part of what makes FA such a distinct opportunity in the area, is that not only do we offer daily, seasonal, and yearly changes, but that the combination of a wide and varied menu of activity and a purposefully-limited enrollment makes possible that every student can actually and easily access each opportunity or change when and if they are ready. Having opportunities that can’t be readily accessed is only artificially different than not having the activity or experience at all. Offering a drama experience with limited parts, a service opportunity that all interested students cannot participate in, an ability-grouped experience like an AP academic class with a strict quota of enrollees, or a varsity or Middle School team that has cuts - those are simply not the FA brand. Our goal is to inspire young people in our charge to want to lead active, productive, and fulfilling lives; and providing challenging, engaging, rewarding, and accessible opportunities for growth and change is a vital component to realizing that goal.

Respectfully,

Scott L. Hutchinson

Head of School

FA Visiting Artist Program

Upper School Advisory

OLSAT Assessments

Grades 1,3, 5

Middle School Assembly

Junior-Senior Prom

Planning Committee Meeting

Mrs. Bradford's Classroom

Wednesday Morning

OLSAT Assessment

First Grade

Varsity Tennis @ CCGA

vs. Brunswick High

Dismissal @ 2:30 PM

Department Meetings

FA Varsity Soccer

@ Coastal Homeschool Association

Savannah

Girls @ 5:00 PM

Boys @ 7:00 PM

Visiting Artist Kevin Bongang

Parent Meet + Greet

Ralston Fine Arts Center

Click here to RSVP.

Varsity Boys Basketball

State Tournament First Round Game

vs. Brookwood in Thomasville

Click here for tournament bracket.

Varsity Baseball @ St. Andrew's

US Student Council Meeting

Mr. Jobe's Classroom

US World Language + Culture Club

C-116

UCB Junior Board

Teacher Letter Request Deadline

Varsity Golf

Camden Classic

@ Osprey Cove

Varsity Baseball

@ Benedictine

This week, we welcome Kevin Bongang as our first Ellen Fleming Visiting Artist. Bongang is a designer and painter from Brunswick whose work has garnered national acclaim. Britney Bongang, Kevin’s wife, is also a designer and non-profits director. The artists are sponsored by the Ellen Fleming Endowment for the Arts. Bongang was selected from a panel's review of eleven professional artists because his work most closely aligned with the school’s mission of student enrichment.

Wednesday, February 24, 5:00 PM, Parent Meet and Greet with Kevin and Britney Bongang, Ralston Fine Arts Center. Meet the Artist and learn about his concepts, background and style. Space is limited to the first 22 sign-ups and the event will also be livestreamed. Please email [email protected] to RSVP for the event. Coffee and refreshments will be served courtesy of the FA Parent Association.

Friday, February 26, 1:00 PM, Upper School Faculty Meeting, Meet with Kevin and Britney in the Nash Academic Center to share a dessert and finalize the visit week.

Students in Grades 1, 3, and 5 will take the Otis Lennon School Ability Test® (OLSAT) standardized assessment on Tuesday morning. First Grade students will complete their OLSAT assessments on Wednesday morning.

For more information, please click HERE to email Mrs. Pruitt. 

The FA Parent Association is sponsoring a "Parent Meet and Greet" reception for the visiting artist in the Terry Thomas Room in the Ralston Fine Arts Center on Wednesday at 5:00 p.m.

FA Parents who are interested in attending should use the button below to email Tess Nielsen. Space is limited; therefore, please RSVP to Dr. Nielsen at your earliest convenience. Livestreaming will also be available to parents who are unable to attend.

Our FA Varsity Knights are headed to the GISA AAA State Boys Basketball Tournament this week. Their first game will take place against Brookwood in Thomasville on Wednesday at 6:00 p.m.

Ticket information will be included in the FA Knightly News on Monday.

Frederica Academy’s administration and staff are looking ahead and making plans for next school year. In preparation for the start of 2021-2022, please take time now to complete your child's re-enrollment for next year before the March 1 deadline.

To complete the online re-enrollment process, you should access the Family Portal through your existing login. If you do not have a login, please follow the "Creating a Family Portal Login" Instructions.

Juniors and seniors who are interested in joining Mrs. Nevins and Mr. Riggs for a day aboard the Tall Ship Lynx should sign up on the door of the College Counselor Center. Space is limited.

All Eighth Grade parents should have received a Paperless Post invitation on Friday to attend a session on Thursday, March 18, at 8:15 a.m., which is an introduction to Frederica Academy's Upper School.

Please use the online invitation to RSVP.

For more information, please click here to email Laura Nevins.

Dottie Barrow is collecting used cell phones so that her students in the MakerSpace can repair them before sending them to our sister school in Haiti. All brands and styles of phones are needed. Please remember to log out of your Apple or Google accounts if possible. The phones can also be "wiped" if needed.

Phones can be dropped off in the Front Office.

Please contact Mrs. Barrow should you have questions or want more information.

Congratulations to Sarah Sarzier, who was honored last Thursday as this month's Student of the Month by the Rotary Club of Brunswick. Sarah selected Mrs. Walbridge as her teacher honoree.

FA Senior Ben Carroll recently built a bike generator in Mrs. Barrow's Engineering class that will be taken to our sister school in Haiti. The design was found online and Ben, in collaboration with Mrs. Barrow, was able to communicate with the author throughout the build process.

At an average pedal pace, the generator produces about 100 watts. To put this in perspective, here are a few watt requirements of some devices: iPhone - 5 watts; iPad Pro - 12 watts; and a fan on high - 40 watts.

The bike generator will power all of these at once and more! Although solar panels are much more effective at generating electricity, sometimes it is cloudy and this is a fun alternative!

Frederica junior, Andrew Kaminer, and his father, Jim Kaminer, were captured in a photo on the front page of The Brunswick News last week. The photo accompanied an article celebrating the construction of Habitat for Humanity's 88th house in the Golden Isles. Andrew and Mr. Kaminer are planning to be a part of this home's construction until its completion.

Middle School students and faculty gathered in the football/soccer bleachers last week to honor students who earned the Head of School Academic Award during the first semester.

The following students were honored during the assembly.

Eighth Grade: Jackson Byrd, Max Byrd, Hayes Carter, Lawson Cofer, Mavry Driggers, Noah Falken, Reese Hankey, Kate Head, Jacob Katz, Mahir Patel, Sophia Price, Jack Roberts, Audrey Shingler, Aubre Smith, Lea Maye Smith, Ellie Tronolone, Trey Walbridge, and Emily Wyrick.

Seventh Grade: Johnathan Aiken, Scout Brummett, Cabot Etheredge, Mary Ford Fitzjurls, Isaiah Johnson, Emilie Jones, Cullen Kazimir, Brianna Kohlhoff, Amelia McGlaughlin, Jimmy McQuade, Ali Palmer, Connor Pope, Thomas Sams, and Elizabeth Temple.

Sixth Grade: Ella Barker, Lauren Dunn, Nyah Forrester, Sofia Gegg, Olivia Helms, Eddie Myers, Emerson Pickens, Jayden Roberts, Luke Sarzier, and Luke Smith.

This weekend, three FA Middle School teams had the opportunity to participate in the first three rounds of the 2021 Georgia Science Middle School Bowl competition. This year's state tournament was conducted virtually and required much more dedication from our Middle School participants.

We are pleased to announce that all three teams qualified for the Finals of the 2021 Georgia Middle School State Science Bowl Tournament, which will take place this upcoming weekend.

With the new online format, all Middle School teams in the state competed at the same time in the preliminary rounds and the top 16 teams now advance to the final elimination and championship rounds.

Our teams placed 7th, 8th, and 9th, respectively. This is the first time three FA Middle School teams qualified to compete for a state science bowl title.

Mr. Titter extends his deepest appreciation to all of this year's MS Science Bowl participants and wishes them all well in this weekend's Elimination Tournament. He would also like to thank Mr. Temple and Mr. Willis for volunteering their time to help co-coach these teams!

Additional thanks to Nurse Pope and her team of Upper School students who helped with screening and crowd control. A very special thank you goes to Megan Helms for helping create the overall event design and decor aesthetics!

Melissa Tsai joined the First Grade classes to explore light last week. Dr. Tsai coordinated a variety of experiments for the students to conduct.

First Grade students also spent time in the Lower School Garden last week. They picked the cabbages they planted last fall before feasting on them. According to the students, they were "yummy!"

2021-2022 Re-Enrollment

Contracts Deadline

All-School Faculty + Staff Meeting

End of Q3

Third Grade Field Trip

Oatland Island (Savannah)

Alumni vs. Varsity Golf Match

Brunswick Country Club

Q3 Grades Posted

Fifth Grade Musical

Parent-Teacher Conferences (K-12)

No School for ALL Students.

Childcare available for LS parents.

KiX will not be available on March 12.

US Lynx Tall Ship Adventure

Open to Grades 11-12

Sign Up with Mrs. Nevins

SAT Exam @ FA

Coastal Symphony

FA Sea Island Green

FA Parent Association Meeting

Hamilton Hall

Parent's Guide to Upper School

FA Eighth Grade Parents

Terry Thomas Room

Ralston Fine Arts Center

Teacher + Staff Luncheon

Thanks, FA Parent Association!

Division Field Days

MS + US Dismissal @ 11:30 AM

LS Dismissal @ Noon

KiX will not be available on March 19.

SAIS Re-Accreditation Team

Campus Visit

Science Fair

Rotary Student of the Month

Eighth Grade Move-Up Session

Introduction to Upper School

Terry Thomas Room

Fourth Grade

Lynx Tall Ship Field Trip

MS + US Musical

Hamilton Hall